After five days of traveling through Georgia and Florida, Sick Week 2025 Presented By Gear Vendors Overdrive rolled into South Georgia Motorsports Park for the final day to see who had enough left in the tank to complete an 850-mile trip with their final pass.
The all-concrete surface in southern Georgia was scorched with record times and shocked faces as competitors just kept getting quicker throughout the day.
Brett LaSala, who had already bettered his existing drag-and-drive radial record three times leading back to Georgia, opened with a 6.128 blast from his twin-turbo, Coyote-platform 2011 Ford Mustang to start his afternoon. On lap number two, he lowered that record a few more notches with a 6.079 at 236mph, which would stand as his quickest number and a new Sick Week record. A record average of 6.241 was enough to win Unlimited and the overall first place of Sick Week.
Rick Johnson from Gear Vendors Overdrive handed LaSala, and co-pilot Jim Braun, electric guitars for their efforts along with the prestigious Sick orange helmet.
“I feel great, top of the world, we planned for it, tested for it and pulled it off,” LaSala said. “It’s hard to describe how much work, effort, mental thought, and lack of rest goes into one of these weeks. Jim Braun and myself were run hard but we got it done.”
While LaSala earned the world record for the quickest drag-and-drive average on a radial tire, another world record was getting just as much attention in the pits. Ed Ensor re-wrote the record book for naturally-aspirated combinations with an astonishing 7.096 average over five days, shattering his previous record of 7.46 in competition.
“I looked at the challenge and it really interested me,” he said. “This is where I fit in, something I understand; the passion and the challenge to do it naturally aspirated. I come to play ball and the playing field is stepping up.”
After a complete revamp of Devin Vanderhoof’s Modified-class 1993 Mustang during the second half of 2024, Josh Davis put in the necessary work behind the wheel to score his second Sick event win. An average of 6.577 took out Modified as well as second overall.
Graham Hayes rose to the top of the pack in Unlimited Iron, as well as finishing third overall, with a conversion of his ‘66 Chevrolet Nova from nitrous to twin turbos last December proving a wise one. A 6.49 average captured the victory.
Almost a doppelgänger of Graham Hayes’ ride, Nick Reinhart topped a large Heavy Metal class for his first winner’s orange helmet. Debuting his 1967 Chevrolet Nova at last year’s Street N Yeet event, Reinhart took what he learned and applied it for an all six-second week at Sick Week. His best single run of 6.886 at 203mph set the class record, and the resulting 6.930 average was also a new record mark.
Glenn Hunter had never run a six-second pass in drag-and-drive competition before Sick Week this year. But he changed that three times during the week, with his timeless ’56 Chevrolet Bel Air rolling to a best of 6.933 during the week. His 7.017 average would score the Pro Street class victory.
The Super Street class had some drama on the final day. Bob Hess Jr. came in with the lead over Bradley Arnold, but after a subpar first run, Hess put out the parts call for a turbocharger. The swap was completed in time to get back in the staging lanes, and a 7.655 final pass equated to a 7.453 average, enough to get the job done for Hess Jr. as the class champion.
After co-piloting with a fellow Mustang owner for an event in 2024, Darin Hendricks decided that the drag-and-drive way of life was for him. His 1993 Mustang Cobra, a former class champion in the NMRA racing series, embarked on its first drag-and-drive event at Sick Week, and his 8.825 second average was good enough to score the win in a very competitive Stick Shift class.
The small tire Rowdy Radial class always brings an interesting mix of cars, and a new name rose to the top of the list this year. Jamie Doller wheeled his 1971-model Chevrolet Camaro to the win, using a 4.992 average to get the job done.
Sick Week Freaks also received a new name at the top of the list, as Cooper Bogetti scored his first drag-and-drive victory. Bogetti took his 2JZ-swapped 1999 Camaro on its first drag-and-drive adventure and averaged an 8.847 for the week to secure the win.
The Street Race 275 class had a familiar name at the top of the list, as Randy Seward scored the title for the second straight year. His 1991 Mustang ran an 8.50X pass four times during the week and averaged out at 8.506, leading Seward to his second Sick helmet.
Kevin Bolger would deny all opponents in the Sick Street Race class, with his 1987 Buick Regal finishing out with an 8.583-second average for the week.
Gassers would once again lead the way in the Gassers vs. Hot Rods vs. Beetles class, with Jeremy Bonnett scoring the top spot. His ‘Last Penny’ 1933 Willys locked down the win with an 8.888-second average.
The Dial-Your-Own (DYO) and Pro DYO puts the pressure on drivers to keep their rides as consistent as possible throughout five days of racing action. At the end of the week, it would be Azeem Sheikh in Pro DYO (8.50-9.99 seconds), and Will Stoneberg in DYO (10.00 seconds and slower) keeping their consistency in place to score the coveted Sick orange helmets.
With Sick Week in the books, eyes turn to a full roster of Sick events to come through 2025 including Sick Summer Presented By Motion Raceworks, Sick Michigan Miles Presented By Driven Racing Oil and Edelbrock Sick Smokies, plus the brand new Sick at the Rock and Sick on the Green events. Full event information is available at www.sickthemagazine.com.
This story was originally published on February 3, 2025. 
